Second GlobalFoundries plant would need increased level

Published 9:10 pm, Tuesday, March 5, 2013

MALTA — If GlobalFoundries moves forward with plans to build a second factory at Luther Forest Technology Campus, it will need a lot more water than it currently gets from Saratoga County.

In documents filed with the towns of Malta and Stillwater, which are straddled by the company's 222-acre site at Luther Forest, GlobalFoundries says it would need nearly 11 million gallons of water a day to operate two factories on the site simultaneously, in addition to a smaller pilot manufacturing clean room that will be between the two.

Water is a crucial element in computer chip manufacturing. Companies like GlobalFoundries build computer chips on 12-inch wide silicon wafers that undergo hundreds of manufacturing steps that use various metals and chemicals to create the microscopic circuitry that powers computers, smart phones and other electronic devices. Water, which must be ultra-pure, is used to remove chemicals and excess metals from the wafers.

Water from the Hudson River is provided to GlobalFoundries by Saratoga County Water Authority, which built a $71.2 million water system that originates in Moreau and terminates at Luther Forest.

Currently, the company, which could end up spending $23 billion on the three facilities, uses less than two million gallons of water a day at the site, which is known as Fab 8.

But within two or three years, as GlobalFoundries ramps up production at the first fab and completes what is called the Technology Development Center, water usage at the site will reach 4.8 million gallons a day — although during "peak" periods of manufacturing, about twice a day for 30 minutes — the water will have to flow at rate of 6 million gallons a day.

The second factory, called Fab 8.2, could be completed by 2016 at the earliest, and reach full manufacturing capacity by 2020.

At that point, if the company is at full production, it will need as much as 10.7 million gallons of water a day, with peak flows at a rate of more than 13 million gallons.

According to GlobalFoundries, in order to get the nearly 11 million gallons of water a day to the two fabs and the Technology Development Center, the water authority will have to upgrade its current water treatment plant, which cost roughly $30 million.

Jack Lawler, chairman of the water authority, says he hasn't been contacted by GlobalFoundries about the needed upgrades. It is unclear how such a project would be financed.

The water authority paid for a large portion of the project with revenue bonds.

GlobalFoundries spokesman Travis Bullard said the water authority hasn't been contacted about its specific needs because the GlobalFoundries board hasn't yet approved funding for the project. And government approvals are also needed.

"We currently have enough water to meet our needs and we know that the SCWA can increase capacity when and if we need it," Bullard said. "We are not there yet."